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Message: <blockquote data-quote="John Dracon" data-source="post: 1435081" data-attributes="member: 14799"><p>Tiger - Montana of course is not far removed from the "Wild West" and cowboys.  It became part of America's civilization by becoming a state in 1889, under what is called manifest destiny by historians - the brutal subjugation of the native American tribes living here only more recently acknowledged.  Seven Indian reservations exist in Montana, sovereign nations existing within a state within a nation.  The most celebrated Indian wars occurred in Montana.  And of course the trail herds of beef cattle which replaced the buffalo ended here.  A few brief statistics. Comparing the UK with Montana shows 61 million people living in 94,526 square miles to less than a million people living in 147,165 square miles.   The typical cowboy is more apt to be riding a Honda 4 wheel ATV than a horse. The state of Florida actually raises more beef cattle than does Montana. But Montana introduced the vigilantes who rather than wait for law and order to emerge (there wasn't really any during those days) decided to roundup the bad guys, hold a brief trial and then hang them from the nearest tree.  After thirty odd rustlers, murderers, etc. were hanged, suddenly Montana territory became safe for travel, and the criminal recidivism rate plummeted.  Montanans in the past were very hard on the raptors with indiscriminate killing almost the norm.  But that all changed when the public became educated to the value of raptors within the eco systems.  Today, only American Indians who are enrolled as tribal  members are allowed to have possession of eagle feathers - for cultural, ceremonial, and religious reasons, and all killing of raptors is prohibited by law with stiff fines imposed on violators.  The osprey probably fared the best throughout the era of raptor persecution in Montana for a variety of reasons. There is only one area nearby Montana where the osprey has been victimized by the law of unintended consequences.  That is a story within itself.  Yellowstone</p></blockquote><p></p>

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